Trunk



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. LYPORD.

TRUNK.

(No Model.)

No. 520,692. Patented May 29, 1894.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. P. LYPORD.

TRUNK.

(No Model.)

No. 520,692. Patented May 29, 1894.

. its full height.

NITE STATES FRANCIS LYFORD, 0F AUGUSTA, MAINE.

TRUNK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,692, dated May 29, 1894. Application filed June 15, 1893. Serial No. 477,6 8- N model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat I, FRANcIs LYFORD, a citiaen of the United States, residing at Augusta, 1n the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which, in connection with the drawings making a part of this specification, will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention belongs to make and use the same.

My invention relates to trunks,'and more particularly to that class of trunks generally termed wall trunks, in which the lid of the trunk is so attached to the trunk body, that when the-lid is raised to its full height the top of the lid will be in substantially the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk body, so that when the trunk is standing against a wall the lid may be raised and opened to its full height without moving the trunk away from the wall.

The object of my invention is to improve upon theconstruction of wall trunks, as now ordinarily made, and to provide a wall trunk, with the trunk body and the trunk lid of the ordinary construction, and so hinged together that the lid, when opened to its full height, will bein substantially the same vertical plane as the rear wall or side of the trunk body.

My invention consists in certain novel features of construction and operation of a wall trunk, and more particularly in the manner of attaching the lid to the trunk body, as will be hereinafter fully described, and the nature thereof indicated by the claims.

Referring to the drawings:-Figure l is a rear perspective view of a wall trunk of my improved construction, with the lid raised to Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section, taken on line 2, 2, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow,same figure. Fig. 3 corresponds to Fig. 2, but shows the lid closed, and Fig. 4 is arear perspective View of a wall trunk, showing a modified construction of the hinge attachment between the trunkbody and the lid shown in Fig. 1.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 is a trunk body of ordinary construction, having the vertical sides and ends parallel to each other,

with their upper ends extending in a horizontal plane parallel to the bottom of the trunk.

2 is the cover or lid, also of the ordinary construction, having straight sides and ends parallel to each other, with the lower edges thereof adapted to rest on the upper edges of the trunk body, when the trunk is closed, and the division line between the trunk body and the lid extending in a horizontal plane parallel to the bottom of the trunk.

3 is a jointed brace arm attached at one end to the trunk body, and at the other end to the lid, in the ordinary way, to hold the lid open, as shown in Fig. 2.

I will now proceed to describe my improvements applied to the trunk shown in the drawings. A

In order that the lid of the trunk shown in the drawings may be raised and opened to its full height when the trunk is against a wall, without drawing the trunk away from the wall, it is necessary that the lid should be so attached to the trunk body that the rear wall or side 2 of the lid will swing inwardly over the trunk body, and that no portion of the lid will extend beyond the rear side or wall of the trunk body as the lid is raised.

In trunks as ordinarily constructed, the hinge joint between the trunk body and the lid is on the back of the trunk at the dividing line between the upper edge of the trunk body and the lower edge of the lid. By this construction, the lid, when raised to its full height, will extend in avertical plane at the rear wall of the trunk body.

In my present invention I have the hinge joint, between the trunk body and the lid, on the back of the trunk, and in the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk, but instead of having the hinge joint at the division line between the trunk body and the lid, I have the hinge joint at the rear upper edge of the lid, so that when the lid is opened and raised to its full height, the rear upper edge of the lid will be in the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk body, and the rear wall or side 2'of the lid will swing inwardly over the trunk body,

By attaching the lid to the trunk body in the manner above described, with the hinge joint, between the trunk body and the lid, at the rear upper edge of the lid, and in the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk, it will be seen that the lid may be raised and opened to its full height when the trunk is standing against a wall, without drawing the trunk away from the wall.

I prefer to attach the lid to the trunk body in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, of the drawings, in which 4 is the lower member of a strap hinge, and 5 the upper member. The lower member 4 is preferably made longer than the upper member 5, and of sufficient length to extend the full height of the rear side 2 of the lid, and down upon the upper part of the rear side of the trunk body, to which it may be attached by rivets 6, or otherwise. The upper member 5 of the strap hinge extends upon the top or upper side of the lid at the rear part thereof, and is rigidly secured to the top side of the lid by rivets 6, or otherwise. The hinge joint 7, between the members 4 and 5 of the hinge, will be at the rear upper edge of the lid, and in the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

By means of the above construction I can take the ordinary trunk box or body consisting of the front and rear walls, and the two end pieces and a bottom piece and also the lid composed of the front and rear walls and the two end pieces and atop piece and secure them together in such a manner as that when closed the rear wall of the lid will engage with and occupy the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the box and also rest against the upper portion of the lower member of the different hinges and be prevented from being forced back off the box by a blow or pressure from in front upon the lid. As the lower member of the hinge is solid or unbroken at the joint between the lid and the box'portion of the trunk this construction is very strong and durable. At the same time it permits of the lid being raised to open the trunk while the trunk is sitting very close to a wall. Another advantage arises from locating the hinges at the rear of the trunk and in a line with the rear wall of the box instead of at the ends of the trunk as heretofore constructed is that any longitudinal or end strain upon the lid is taken up by the lower member of the' hinge, edgewise, which prevents the lid from being broken loose from the box by blows or pressure against the ends.

In order to strengthen and make more rigid the connection between the trunk body and the lid, I prefer to make the lower member 4; of the strap hinge with the side extension or lip 4 extending upon the end of the trunk body; the lower portion of said lip 4: is rigidly attached to the upper portion of the end of the trunk body by rivets or otherwise, as shown in Fig. 1. The upper member 5 of the strap hinge may also be provided with aside extension or lip 5', extending down upon the end of the lid, and attached thereto by rivets 6, or otherwise, to hold thelid more firmly on its hinge joint 7.

I have shown in Fig. 4 a modified construction of the hinges shown in Figs. 1, 2, and d.

In Fig. 4: are shown three strap hinges; the lower members 4 being of suilicient length to extend down beyond the lower edge of the lid and upon the upper part of the rear side of the trunk body, to which they are rigidly secured by rivets 6, or otherwise, and the upper members 5 of the hinges extend upon the top side of the lid at the rear part thereof, and are secured thereto by rivets 6, or otherwise; the hinge joint7, between the members 4 and 5, is at the rear upper edge of the lid and in the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk, as above stated in connection with Figs. 1, 2, and 3. I

In case of a long trunk, the rear side 2 of the lid, there being no connection between said rear side and the hinges connecting the lid with the trunk body, is apt to bulge inwardly, and in order to prevent this, and to lock or secure the rear side 2' of the lid to one or more of the hinges, I provide a staple 8, secured in the rear side 2' of the lid, and extending outwardly therefrom, which staple, when the lid is closed, is adapted to extend through a slot 9 in the lower member 4 of one of the hinges. The staple is retained in the slot 9 so as to secure the rear side 2of the lid to the lower member of the hinge, by a padlock 10, or otherwise. Instead of a staple 8, a thumb screw 11, secured to the rear side 2' of the trunk lid, and extending out therefrom, and adapted to be turned, and to extend through a slot 12 in the lower member of one of the hinges, may be used. The thumb screw 11 is moved into a vertical position when it is desired to raise the lid, andis turned in the opposite position, as shown in Fig. 4, when the lid is closed and it is desired to secure the rear side 2' thereof to the lower member of one of the hinges.

The advantages of my improved construc tion of wall trunks will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. I

My improvements are of very simple construction, inexpensive, and readily applied to, and combined with ordinary trunks having vertical sides and ends, with the division line between the trunk body and the lid ex tending in a horizontal plane, paralletto the bottom of the trunk, without altering or changing in any way the trunk body or the trunk lid, and in case of long trunks three or more hinges may be used for attaching the lid to the trunk body.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a wall trunk, the combination with the body and the lid, each having a front and a rear wall and end pieces, of a series of flat strap hinges arranged in the same vertical plane and the lower member of each of which is secured to the rear wall of the body and project above the same to the height of the rear wall of the lid, and the upper member is secured to the top of the lid, whereby when the trunk is closed the rear wall of the lid will rest against the lower members of the hinges, and when the trunk is open the top of the lid will lie in substantially the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the box, substantially as set forth.

2. In a wall trunk, the combination with the trunk body, and the trunk lid, of means for hinging the lid to the trunk body, consisting of strap hinges, the lower members thereof secured to the upper part of the rear wall of the trunk body, and provided withalip or side extension secured to the end of the trunk body, and the upper members secured upon the top side of the lid at the rear part thereof, and provided with a lip or side extension secured upon the end of thelid, with the hinge joint between the members at the rear upper edge of the lid, and in the same vertical plane as the rear wall of the trunk, for the purpose stated, substantially as set forth.

3. In a wall trunk, the combination with the trunk body, and the trunk lid, of means for hinging the lid to the trunk body, consisting of strap hinges, the lower members of said hinges secured to the upper part of the rear wall of the trunk body, and the upper members of-said hinges secured upon the top side of the lid at the rear part thereof, with the hinge joint between the members at the rear upper edge of the lid, and means for securing the rear side of the lid to the lower member of one or more of the hinges, for the purpose stated, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a wall trunk, the combination with the body and the lid, each of which has a front and a rear wall and end pieces, of aseries of hinges, the lower member of each of which is secured to and projects above the rear wall of the body, and a portion of said lower members is perforated, and the upper members are secured to the top of the lid, and a latch on the rear wall of the lid for each perforation in the hinges, and adapted to project therethrough, substantially as set forth.

FRANCIS LYFORD.

Witnesses;

HARRIET O. HASKELL, LENDALL TITCOMB. 

